Four Times a Charm
by TIBP906
Summary: Clark's back to an unwanted surprise after three years of training and traveling the world. Lois is stuck with feelings that she's afraid to acknowledge. Richard is stupid in love. Michelle is crazy in lust, and Chloe and others are stuck in the middle.
1. Welcome to the Daily Planet

**This is my first time attempting to write, and as usual the first time doing anything is nerve wracking. I have the idea for a fic, I have a few paragraphs already written. But I wanted to present my idea to anyone that's willing to read and see if I should go ahead and continue to write. So here goes nothin...**

**Summary: Clark's back to an unwanted surprise after three years of training and traveling the world. Lois is stuck with feelings that she's afraid to acknowledge. Richard is stupid in love. Michelle is crazy in lust, and Chloe and others are stuck in the middle, or if your Bruce Wayne, your on the sideline enjoying the show.**

**Rating: PG-13**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Smallville or any of the Smallville characters. However I do own my friend Michelle who is crazy in lust with Clark/Tom **

**Chapter 1- Welcome to the Daily Planet**

From the perspective of any outsider looking into the bullpen, they could easily see that the Daily Planet bullpen was busy as usually. From the sounds of angry fingers furiously typing, to reporters yelling for the copy boy, to people moving in and about the bullpen, and even the collision that a few bystanders could see was inevitable….

"Ugh"

"I'm sorry, are you alright?"

"Yeah, although I do feel as if I've been hit by a moving semi" said Michelle with an amused tone.

The fact that she was almost bowled over by the most handsome reporter at the Planet not fazing her in the least, and most notably not by the fact that he was holding her in his surprisingly large and soft hands, while peering down at her with the most gorgeous aqua-green eyes that she's ever seen.

She inwardly sighed 'hmmm, Clark Kent is definitely swoon worthy.'

"I'm sorry, here let me help" replied Clark as he finally let Michelle go in an attempt to help her pick up her fallen papers. He knew he should have been watching where he was going but the image of an engagement ring was stuck in his mind's eye, and the decision to leave his desk was abrupt but he was pretty sure Lois wasn't paying any attention to him. After three years of training and traveling the world, he thought that maybe when he came back he and Lois would have a chance at a relationship, despite the fact that she turned him down 3 times in the past. Whoever said third times a charm was an idiot.

After hearing the collision not too far off from her desk, Lois decided to look up from her computer. When she noticed what or better yet who the cause of the collision was she wasn't really surprised. Ever since Clark came back from wherever, he's been running into everything. She knew he was a total klutz sometimes but now it seemed like he was a klutz to the extreme, then again those new glasses he's been wearing could be doing more harm than good.

As Lois continued to bear witness to the train wreck unfolding, her facial expression went from exasperated to dark as she watched slutty Anna stare down at Clark as if he were a fallen piece of milk chocolate Hershey's bar.

' I mean any red-blooded female could see that Clark was gorgeous even with glasses, but that didn't mean she and all the other women at the Planet stared at him for longer than 10, ok 30 seconds at the most', mused Lois.

As she continued to watch, Clark had finally gathered the fallen papers and from Lois' perspective was now invading slutty Anna's personal space, while at the same time wearing that charming smile that always made him look like a freakin saint. Tired of looking at slutty Anna practically scream at Clark that she's available and waiting to be jumped and Clark idiotically falling into her trap by following her, she turned back towards her computer fuming.

'Ughh! The man frustrated her to no end. Why did he have to be so generous and chivalrous, I mean for Christ sakes I thought chivalry was dead! But no, leave it up to Clark freakin Kent to prove me wrong. I mean did he have to help Kasey, Lassie, or whatever her name is pick up her fallen documents, and on top of that did he have to offer to walk all the way back to her desk to drop 'em off. I mean she looked pretty capable to me. Ughh!'

"Lois, Lois?" called a distant voice.

"What!" yelled Lois as she furiously turned in her chair to face the voice that interrupted her mounting frustrations of her bumbling partner.

As her mind worked through her fog of frustration, her vision of the person in front of her cleared to none other than her smiling fiancé. Any other day his nice and disarming smile would have worked to cheer her up, but today wasn't one of those days. Today was a day that she wanted to stay fuming at her partner, why, she didn't know at the moment. But what she did know was that seeing Clark with that dark haired bimbo pissed her off.

"You seem to be in a bad mood today" said Richard.

'No s*** Sherlock', thought Lois with a scowl on her face.

"I just came by to see if my beautiful fiancé wanted to go to lunch with me at this new café across the street. I heard they have really good coffee and other eatable things too", said Richard with a disarming smile.

As Richard saw that Lois made no move to get out of her chair to greet him, he thought that he'd take the initiative and help her up. So he carefully took both of her hands and pulled her up to stand directly in front of him. He then took one of his hands and brought it to Lois' chin in order to lift her head so that her eyes were locked with his.

Before he spoke, he reflectively took a look at her. At the moment she was wearing a scowl and he could tell that though her eyes were locked with his that he was not the focus of her thoughts. Despite that fact, he smiled, knowing that she was probably mad about some story or other. As he continued to stare at his fiancé, he couldn't help but to admire her beauty. From her beautiful hazel speckled with green eyes, to her cute nose that fit perfectly with her face, all the way down to her pink kissable heart shaped lips, the same lips that he had the urge to kiss and never stop.

Closing the short distance between them he brought their faces closer together, but before he could get to her lips he heard someone behind him clearing there throat in an indication that they wanted to be acknowledged.

"Ahem, Lois?" said the deep uncertain voice.

**Ok that's what I have so far. If you think I should continue let me know by commenting**

***Comments= Motivation***


	2. Saved By the Blonde

**Chapter 2- Saved by a Blonde**

"Ahem, Lois?" said the deep uncertain voice.

Snapping out of her frustrated haze and quickly extricating herself from Richard's hold Lois turned to the voice behind them. "Clark!"

"Lois?"

Holding his hand out towards Clark and smiling, "Richard."

As Richard unexpectedly joined the staring contest between them, Lois and Clark turned to look at him as if he came out of nowhere. Feeling as if he needed to repeat himself, Richard continued to hold out his hand towards Clark with a smile, "Hi I'm Richard White, and you must be Clark."

Seeing the way that Richard was invading Lois' personal space, Clark figured that this guy must be her fiancé, knowing that otherwise he would've been flat on his face in a world of hurt if he wasn't, and from where he was standing he couldn't help but to wonder what Lois saw in the guy. He didn't make a habit of judging the looks of people, especially men, but he really couldn't see what attracted Lois to Richard. He was only slightly taller than Lois, but definitely shorter than him, dark brown hair, dull blue eyes, and he seemed to be of average build, and nothing about him screamed of excitement. In spite of all these qualities Lois was engaged to marry the man so there had to be something about him. Feeling as though he needed to prove himself, he stood taller, and went from being uncertain to confident, while looking at Richard more intently.

From where Lois was standing, she saw that Clark seemed to be sizing Richard up, for what reason she didn't know, and as she continued to questioningly look at Clark she saw something that intrigued her. Almost as if he became a different person right in front of her, she watched Clark transform from being the meek and uncertain guy that she's been used to seeing since his return a week ago to confidant, and dare she say _sexy. _

She softly groaned, _damn't looking at Clark this way was so not what she needed right now, especially when her fiancé was standing less than a feet away from her, but telling by the unwavering smile on his face he probably wouldn't notice her obvious interest in Clark even if he suddenly turned to stare at her. _

With his sensitive hearing Clark heard Lois groan, and shifted his attention from Richard to Lois.

With a husky voice, "Lois?"

"Clark? I think you forgot your pen at my desk," said a smiling Michelle from behind Clark.

Hearing a new voice in the tense and in Lois' opinion awkward conversation, _if a person could call it a conversation with everyone just staring at each other. _Her eyes quickly fell from Clarks to glare at Michelle.

Seeing the way Lois' eyes went from staring at him to the person at his side, Clark finally took notice of the woman he had bumped into earlier smiling up at him from his side with a blue ink pen in her hands. Just now registering what she said, he didn't recall her name or leaving a pen at her desk, but then again when he saw a man get off the elevator heading in the direction of Lois' desk all thought processes and sense of hearing were lost, so maybe she did tell him her name, and maybe the pen she was holding was his. As he thought about this, obvious confusion could be seen on his face.

Still smiling up at Clark Michelle ventured from just holding the pen in her left hand to taking Clark's hand with her right, and sensually placing the pen in it, all the while taking a bit longer than usual to feel the back and palm of his hand. _Damn, a man with large soft hands can do so much for a woman's body._

Before making her presence known, she had been attempting to work at her desk, all the while looking for an excuse to stare at Clark again. After debating with herself she finally got up heading in the direction of his desk, only to stop short when she saw that he wasn't alone, but seemed to be the focus of Lois and her fiancé Richard. Seeing that she couldn't just show up empty handed, she quickly grabbed a pen from a nearby desk. It was the perfect excuse; after all, every reporter needed a pen.

Still smiling and this time holding his hand out toward Michelle, "Hi, I'm Richard White. I don't think we've been formally introduced, but seeing that Lois is lacking in her manners at the moment I'm gonna just introduce myself."

"Michelle".

Seeing Richard turn towards him with his hand still out, Clark finally shook his hand, but not before adding a little extra strength to his grip, just enough not to break his hand. Seeing the grimace on Richards face, he smiled and replied "hi, I'm Clark".

Taking his hand back and steeling himself, despite the fact that his face had gone a little red Richard nodded his head toward Clark in a final acknowledgement of greeting.

Since the dark haired woman whose name was apparently Michelle reappeared in Lois' line of sight, her focused glare was glued to the woman. Her focus didn't waver when she was standing by Clark's side, but then she did something unexpected. Instead of handing the pen to someone like a normal everyday person would do, Slutty Anna did something that made Lois see red. Lois watched as she took Clark's hand and very sensually touches him before finally slowly placing the pen in his hand.

Out the side of her right eye Lois saw her now cold and untouched coffee sitting on her desk. As her posture showed that she was still watching the people in front of her, it was her offending right hand that should have been paid more close attention to, because as Lois watched Richard introduce himself, Lois' right hand inched closer to the coffee cup. When she finally had the cup in her grip, a menacing smile could be seen on her face, getting ready to lift the cup and take aim at Michelle, her forward movement was suddenly halted. As if out of nowhere, she felt herself being embraced by a blonde.

"Chloe?"


	3. Three Times!

**Chapter 3- Three Times!**

"Chloe?"

As she embraced her cousin, Chloe felt relieved that she made it to Lois before she completely lost control and threw coffee on some poor unsuspecting woman who obviously was about to become the victim of a coffee stained blouse, or worst, second degree coffee burns.

_Lois really is a 'Mad Dog'._

When she stepped off the elevator into the bullpen, the last thing she expected to see was Lois' right hand taking hold of a coffee cup that didn't seem to be empty, and glowering at a woman who obviously didn't see the danger she was in. It didn't really take a rocket scientist to deduce or to see what was about to take place. Knowing she had to move quickly, she made a dash towards her cousin just in time to embrace her in a hug and thus stopping her from making any further movement towards the woman behind her.

With a sigh of relief Chloe removed herself from her cousin's embrace and with enthusiasm that she was no longer feeling smiled, while removing, to her surprise the _cold_ cup of coffee from her hands. When she saw the menacing look on Lois' face, she most definitely thought that the coffee would be scorching hot.

Seeing her cousin eyeing her with the coffee, she regrettably took a sip to divert her attention, and with a tight smile greeted her, "Lois, hey!"

Removing the coffee from her cousin's hand, bemused Lois asked, "Chloe, you do know you just drank cold coffee, right?"

Her response was a giggle. She wasn't giggling because she was amused, but by the fact that after only being in Metropolis for three hours, she was already feeling relief and stressed at the same time. She couldn't help it, here she was trying to prevent Lois from doing something rash, and now she had not only Lois, but her fiancé Richard, Clark, and the unknown woman who in her opinion was the cause of her swift action, staring at her as if she was off her meds.

Struggling to compose herself, she replied, "Yeah Lois I know", and left it at that, while turning to face Clark and the unknown woman.

"Hey Clark, Richard", and looking towards Michelle, "Hi, I'm Chloe, Lois' cousin".

With an amused glint in her eyes Michelle introduced herself, "Michelle, I'm a city beat reporter here", not knowing that Chloe just saved her from having to wear Lois' coffee, she went on, "and I can see that quirkiness runs in the family?"

As if they'd practiced, Lois and Chloe feeling insulted put both hands on their hips, and looking angry enough to kill exclaimed at the same time "What!"

Michelle's comment was not meant to be insulting, but even Clark could see by the looks on Lois' and Chloe's face that they were far from being amused. If looks could kill, it was safe to say Michelle would be dead, with Lois and Chloe standing over her body wanting to do it all over again.

Seeing their stance and Lois' eye twitch, Clark took a slight step in front of Michelle, while Richard moved closer to Lois' side. Apparently they both had the same idea that Michelle was in serious danger. Knowing he had to remove Michelle from the situation Clark carefully took Michelle's hand in his and turned her to face him.

"Hey, how 'bout I take you out for lunch, to fully apologize for running into you earlier", looking sincere with his signature puppy dog eyes "what'd you say, my treat?"

Feeling as if her prayers had been answered, she replied with a beaming smile "yea that sounds great".

"Okay then, let's go"

Looking back up at the people in front of him, "See ya Chloe", turning to Richard with less enthusiasm and a head nod "Richard", and finally turning to look at Lois, not feeling up to saying goodbye, nodded his head to her in acknowledgement and turned to walk away with Michelle following closely at his side.

Feeling like she'd been punched in the heart, Lois continued to stand looking at where Clark and Michelle were previously standing. She didn't feel as if she could move without her feet giving out from under her, it was amazing that she was still standing. Seeing Clark walk away with Michelle hurt more than it should have. Feeling someone's hand on her arm she finally snapped out of her musings to look at her cousin.

Seeing that her cousin seemed to be frozen, Chloe gently put her hand on her arm, and with pitying eyes that showed understanding, she asked "How 'bout you and me go to our favorite pizza restaurant Lucky Luke's", with an amused tone and teasing smile, "I have a feeling that Luke misses his most ravenous customer".

With a shy smile Lois replied, "yea I'd like that", almost forgetting about Richard she turned to him with a look of apology, "Richard, you don't mind Chloe and I going out to lunch, do you?"

"No, it's alright. I figure I'd go see my uncle anyway, make sure he's staying away from those cigars" said Richard with an easy smile.

Moving towards her to give her a light peck on her cheek, "I'll see you at our place later", turning in the direction of Perry's office, he waved a final goodbye to Lois and Chloe.

"Let's go cuz; I left Alfred in the car", Chloe said while watching Lois retrieve her purse, "I'm sure even he can be patient for only so long".

Linking their arms together and walking towards the elevator, "yeah let's go", and with a smirk "I'm feeling quite ravenous at the moment".

**Chapter 3 continued later, or tomorrow**

***Reviews welcomed***


	4. Three Times! Continued

**Chapter 3- Three Times! Continued…. **

Having eaten lunch with Lois in surprised silence and lack of conversation, Chloe decided to ask Lois to spend the rest of the day together at her and Bruce's penthouse. She was worried about her cousin, and most importantly, she found it really unlike Lois to even go an entire sitting without rambling about something or other. That in itself set off her radar and told her that her cousin was definitely not doing 'fine', no matter how much she asked her and she repeated the same sentiment.

Her attitude at Lucky Luke's was simply unnatural when compared to other outings at the immortal pizza place. Lucky Luke's was a place that held memories of countless crazy college nights of all you can eat pizza contests and even held the order of Lois' own famous extra supreme pizza with _everything_ on it. What she did note however, despite the silence, was that whenever she mentioned a certain farm boy, or the event of what happened at the Planet earlier, her cousin would freeze up, or completely divert the conversation or lack thereof.

With this new found information she knew she had to pull a 'boys suck' girls day. A day where they would sit and watch mushy romantic comedies, with all the junk food they could eat, and before the end gorge themselves on their favorite ice cream. _Yep, today definitely calls for it_.

When Chloe initially asked her if she wanted to spend the rest of the day at her penthouse, her first thought was that her cousin had sensed her mood.

She tried to keep up with her end of the conversation at Luke's, _admittedly she did a poor job of it,_ but her straying thoughts kept her usual motor mouth in park. The only thing she could think of was Clark with _Michelle._ Her thoughts kept jumping from one thing to another, but they never jumped too far from Clark.After leaving the restaurant she called Richard and told him of her plans to spend the day with her cousin, and made a regrettable call to Perry and told him that she'd be gone for the rest of the day. To say that he wasn't happy with her decision would be a serious understatement. Lucky for her she had the advantage of not being face to face and was able to hold her cell away from her ear, but at one point she could swear she saw speckles of spit leave the speaker of her phone as he yelled at her.

After five minutes of listening to Perry bellow at her on the sidewalk, she finally ended the call and followed Chloe to where Alfred was ready with the car door already open and ready for them to enter.

Never resisting a chance to try to rile up Alfred, despite her mood, with her signature smirk she teasingly said "thanks Alfie".

The ride to the penthouse was much like the restaurant. Chloe would try to strike up a conversation, but Lois remained in her own little world. Giving up on trying to have a conversation, Chloe sat back and watched her cousin muse to herself. She had to admit, it was a bit humorous to watch Lois ramble to herself.

Silently mouthing as she sat in the car with Chloe and Alfred, "_Michelle and Clark, Clark and Michelle." They don't even sound right together. Why did he take her out to lunch, I mean we're supposed to be partners. What does he see in her? Is he planning on dating her? Why should I care, I'm with Richard, and I love him… right?_ Her last thought made her pause with a conflicted frown on her face, _I love Richard, I'm pretty sure I love him. He's a sweet honest man, with great teeth, and a nice smile. What's not to like… I mean love, I meant love, Lois you meant love. _With a triumphant smile on her face, _Yes Lois you love Richard, Clark's the past, or in the past, no, Clark doesn't matter…right?_ With and angered look, _damn you Clark…_

Finally reaching the penthouse, and feeling that it was past due that she pry some information out of her cousin, Chloe made her way to the fully stocked kitchen and began to rifle through all the junk food that was currently in the pantry.

"So cuz, what do you wanna do tonight?", still going through the pantry, "I have all of our favorite movies, and any and every junk food imaginable."

Seeing Alfred standing in the opening of the kitchen Chloe turned to him, "Alfred, Lois and I will be fine for the rest of the evening, and if we need your help Lois or I will be sure to call for you." Seeing Alfred about to remind her of something, she quickly interrupted with a smile, "o and I can assure you, neither Lois nor I will even go near the stove".

Feeling satisfied, Alfred turned to leave, "good evening Ms. Lane", and with a smile towards Chloe, "Mrs. Wayne".

Throwing her purse on the far end of the long elegant white couch, kicking off her shoes, and removing her suit jacket, Lois plopped exasperatedly on the couch. _Wow, this thing is really comfortable, I could definitely get used to this. _

Finding the remote to the overly large plasma TV, she turned it on and went to the television guide to see what was on. Out the corner of her eye she could see her cousin struggling with all the snacks in her hands, it was wrong of her, but she sat for a second to watch her cousin amusingly try to juggle the food in her hands. Feeling that it was time to help she got up and began to take some things from Chloe, "here Chlo, let me help you with these."

"Thanks Lo, though it took you long enough".

"Sorry Chlo, I figured you'd make it over here before I actually got up to help".

Dropping an arm full of snacks on the coffee table, Chloe turned to Lois and motioned for her to sit on the couch. Not bothering to look at the TV, she sat and stared at Lois for a moment to see if she would start talking.

Knowing that Chloe was openly staring at her and not the TV, Lois finally gave up and in a soft voice "I'm confused, I shouldn't be, but I am."

With a confused look, Chloe spoke, "Lo, what are you confused about and why shouldn't you be", she knew what she said was basically a restatement, but what else could she say. She finally got Lois talking, and she wanted her to continue.

With a single breath she replied, "I'm confused about Clark and what I'm feeling for him, and about the way I feel and am supposed to feel for Richard", with a deep breath she continued, "I mean when he showed up a week ago at the Planet as my new partner, I was more than surprised, I was shocked. When he left to travel the world, I didn't know where we stood, and after everything that happened between us, or didn't but could've happened, I thought I missed my chance with him. It took a while after he left for me to finally accept that, but I did, or at least thought I did".

With a look of shock, "wow, Lois, I mean wow. I knew this had something to do with Clark, but wow."

She knew she should have more to say than 'wow', but to learn that her ex-boyfriend Jimmy was right about Lois and Clark having feelings for each other was a lot, considering they never dated during college and whenever they were confronted with the idea Lois would scoff and make some off handed comment, while Clark would laugh it off and turn a slight shade of red. When Clark left for his training, she did notice that Lois was a bit different. Her sudden interest in a specific type of man should have set off alarm bells.

When Lois first started working at the Planet her first boyfriend was a lawyer named Robert. Robert unlike his colleagues was deluded with the fight for justice in a corrupt system. He was a tall, dark haired man, with an innate sense for justice and for doing the right thing. If he didn't scream 'Clark', then she really wasn't paying attention, then again it could've been because she had a certain billionaire trying to ask her out on a date.

When Lois and Robert broke it off because he was relocating to Washington, where according to Lois he was 'taking the fight for justice to a place where it really mattered', it didn't take long for Lois to rebound. A month later she literally ran into Richard, they started officially dating a week later, around the same time she finally accepted Bruce's request for a date. They dated for about two and a half years and just two weeks ago got engaged, whereas a year after Bruce and her started dating they got engaged and married a month later.

Finally breaking the overbearing silence, Lois turned to the TV and saw that Bridgette Jones's Diary was currently playing. Turning the channel to that station, she sat and waited for her cousin to stop staring at her with her mouth open and actually say something.

"Ok Chloe, are you gonna stop staring at me or not?"

"Well, I mean you just said something that shocked me into silence"

"When you think about it it's really not that shocking, I mean Clark and I did have chemistry, he obviously thought so, to have asked me out three times."

"Clark asked you out three times?"

With a shrug, "Yeah, the first time he asked I don't think either of us was ready, he was getting over 'the Pink Princess', and I was getting over Ollie, so it was only right that I said no, I didn't want either one of us to be each other's rebound and that's what we would've been to each other."

Turning to finally face her cousin, and with a reminiscent look "the second time he asked, we were in our sophomore year, he was walking me back to my dorm after he escorted me to the spring social. He walked me up to my room door, and then he asked me again", with an amused smile, "in his own Smallville way."

"The reason I said no that time was because I wasn't ready. I didn't think I could handle a relationship with him, and knowing that if it didn't work out, that I'd not only be losing a best friend, but my heart." As she finished, a slight crack could be heard in her voice.

Not feeling that she could break down in front of Chloe and then pretend that everything was alright tomorrow in front of Richard and Clark, she quickly steeled herself.

Recomposing herself, she continued, "the third time he asked, it was actually the week before he announced that he was leaving to travel the world. After he made the announcement, he and I went for a walk around the farm."

In a reminiscent tone she continued, "I remember we were walking in silence not knowing what to say to each other, and then he stepped in front of me and took both of my hands in his. He had the most determined look in his eyes, and then he kissed me. I kissed him back because it felt right and because I wanted to. When he pulled away, that's when he asked me. He told me that in the week he had left that we could date and then if I wanted we could try a long distance type thing, though I did note that he said the last part without much conviction.

With a sigh, "as you can already guess, I said no. I didn't want to have him for a week and then do a long distance relationship that's been proven time and time again to rarely if ever work, and plus I didn't want him making a commitment knowing that there was so much of the world for him to see. If I would've said yes, I would've been the anchor to his ship," with emphasis, "and Lois Joanne Lane is no one's anchor".

Finally finishing and looking up at her cousin, Lois waited for a reply.

With a shake of her head and a look and tone of disbelief, "three times!" staring at Lois for a moment with a confused look, "three times, you mean to tell me reluctant of commitment Clark Kent asked you out twice in the span of four years that we were in college and once before we even left Smallville?"

In a calmer and understanding tone, "I mean after hearing your reasoning, I get it, but now that he's back what are you gonna do. I mean the way I see it either way you try to tackle this thing someone gets hurt, but if these feelings that your feeling for Clark is strong enough then I think you should go for it. Richard's a nice guy and all, but this is Clark," not knowing how else to describe the man that they both knew she continued, "he's Clark, and besides if you don't do anything, then I'm sure he and Michelle will live happily ever after. After you and Richard do of course." Knowing that what she said was a low blow, she waited for her cousin to erupt.

Instead of Instead of erupting like her cousin thought she would, Lois sat silently fuming and thinking of some disturbing things to do to Michelle if she even did anything with Clark.

**- Clark's Apartment -**

As he entered his apartment, and threw his keys on the end table next to the door, he couldn't stop smiling.

After he had taken Michelle out to lunch, where he found her company to be pretty enjoyable, especially the fact the she had an even bigger case of 'foot in mouth' syndrome than Lois, he went back to the Planet to find that Lois wasn't at her desk. Deciding he didn't want to know where she was, he sat trying to finish up his work, until Michelle came up to ask him out to dinner. At first he didn't know what to say, but then thinking about Lois being with Richard, it was really a no brainer. Lois apparently was engaged to some dud, so he could date whoever he wanted.

The dinner like lunch was also enjoyable, and when he thought about it, Michelle was really beautiful, and maybe she was the person he needed to get over Lois.

Before he finally closed his eyes to sleep, whether he was aware or not, the one person he was trying to forget was the only name whispered from his lips

"Lois"

Okay, that was long... Chapter 4 probably won't be up til the weekend

*Let me know what you think *


	5. Bonding Time

**Chapter 4- Bonding Time**

**One Month Later…**

"Oh my God, did you see that guy?" with a husky voice, "Hey babe my name is Carl, and I **know** I'm the man for you".

Michelle was perched on the side of Clark's desk currently retelling the incident of what occurred at the restaurant they went to last night; when a "suave" guy tried to pick up a woman sitting at the bar area with a _friend_. It was bad enough that the guy tried to use a pick up line, but it was made even worst when the guy found out that the woman he was trying to pick up wasn't even playing for the same team, and that her _friend_ was actually her girlfriend.

Clark, though he was there when it happened couldn't help but laugh at the retelling. Michelle had put her own twist on the story, and that made it drastically better. Out of the corner of his eye he also couldn't help but to watch Lois as she mocked Michelle. Every few seconds her mouth and head would move in a mocking manner, all while she typed on her keyboard. He should have somehow subtly reprimanded her, but he found her actions cute…in a Lois kind of way.

As he continued to look at Michelle, while at the same time trying to watch Lois, he heard a cry for help off in the distance.

He quickly jumped up from his chair surprising both Michelle and Lois, he reached for his jacket and began to stutter out an excuse.

"Ah, Michelle…y-you know it's about lunch time, so how bout I go pick us up a few sandwiches", hearing a robbery in progress, "a-and maybe stop by your favorite pastry stand and get you a..ah cupcake".

Looking clearly surprised by his change in demeanor, and sudden movement Michelle replied, "Ah, okay. Thanks, and don't forget I like honey mustard on my sandwich".

Reaching out towards Clark before he bolted off, Michelle grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him within reach of her lips, and gave him a not so chaste kiss. After a few seconds of his lips she gently pushed him away and wiped her lipstick off his lips with her thumb.

"O, and uh hurry back"

Clark simply nodded and retreated towards the stairs.

As he flew towards the building where a woman was dangling off the ledge and a man was retreating into the stair well, his mind drifted back to the incident at the Planet. It wasn't unusual for Michelle to kiss him, when considering they had been dating nearly a month now. But that was the first time she'd kissed him openly in the bullpen, and in front of Lois. When she kissed him, for the first time since their first kiss, he felt really uncomfortable. He didn't know if it was because it was in broad daylight with all of their coworkers around, or if it was because Lois was sitting less the three feet away.

Deciding he could think about his issues later, he refocused his attention on the young woman who he'd just helped down off the ledge of the building, making sure she was okay, and then handing her off to the paramedics.

"Hey Sups, people are saying there was a man up there with her, did you see anyone else up there?" asked an officer.

"Yeah, he ran into the building just as I showed up, I'm going to fly thru the building to see if I can find him". With a nod towards the officer, he turned with the intention to fly off, when he felt a sudden breeze on his face.

When he turned he was clearly surprised to see a man dressed in red, with yellow boots, with things that looked like lightning bolts sticking out the sides of his head, and with a yellow lightning bolt in the middle of his chest, and in one of his arms the man who was also on the roof of the building.

"Here you go officer", the guy in the red spandex suit said as he handed over the suspect.

Finally turning towards Clark with a smile, "Sup big guy?"

After finally hearing the man's voice, recognition didn't come to Clark. So he did something that some would say is really unfair of him to do in regards to another superheroes identity, but in this case he was fairly sure who the man beneath the mask was, he just couldn't believe it.

As he used his x-ray vision to peel away the layer of the mask, Clark saw his old friend Bart Allen. It had been years since he'd seen him, and apparently in those years his growth spurt had finally kicked in because now he didn't really have to look down too far to acknowledge him.

In a questioning whisper, "Bart?"

"Yep, it's all me". Leaning in to whisper, he continued, "O and the names Flash out here in public big guy". With mock offence, " And I should feel offended that you violated my privacy by using your vision thingy on me, what if I wanted to keep my identity a secret and be some sort of blurry lone ranger going around saving lives and be immortalized for the work I'm doing"?

With annoyance in his voice. "Bart?"

"You know I can see it now. The Blur…or Flash, doesn't matter, they both mean I'm… you know fast. Anyway, The Blur/ Flash saves the day, did u…

"Bart?

"Yeah man?"

In a hushed tone, "Shut up, and let's go somewhere where we can talk without having to whisper"

"Okay lead the way big guy, or maybe I should, seeing as I'm faster than you" replied Bart with a mocking smile.

"Bart, just meet me at the farm"

"Whatever you say big guy", with that said, he blurred off towards the Kent farm.

Still standing, looking at the spot where Bart was just standing, Clark shook his head and took off into the sky towards the robbery in progress, with the intention of meeting Bart at the farm afterwards.

**-The Bullpen- **

After Clark had suddenly left, _O, but not before smooching the woman who was still sitting at his desk._ Lois tried her damndest not to blow a fuse, or stomp off into the break room.

_I was pissed; I can't even tell who I'm more pissed off at, Clark, or his "girlfriend". I really don't like that word, especially when it's associated with that woman and Clark, hell, I don't even like her name. Michelle just doesn't sound right rolling off my tongue_. _Ughhh! And to make matters worse, the woman was still sitting at Clark's desk as if she belonged there. And she didn't seem to be taking my subtle hints to leave no matter how hard I typed, how loud I shuffled papers that didn't need shuffling, or how LOUD I sighed. The dope just sat there in Clark's chair without a care in the world. Unbelievable! _

With her frustration mounting, her mind veered to the man who she couldn't believe was dating the woman across from her. She couldn't believe that he would just up and leave saying that he was going to buy that other woman lunch and not even acknowledge her, _I mean we're partners for crying out loud. Isn't there supposed to be some kind of 'bro's before hoes' kind of deal in a partnership?_

_Ughhh, that man. I love him, but he's just…I can't even find the word to describe what kind of idiot he is at the moment. _

As soon as she thought this, her eyes popped with realization. If Michelle or anyone were to have looked at her in her moment of realization, they would have simply thought she had some sort of break in a story she was writing, but only Lois knew that the break she had, had nothing to do with a story.

Of course she knew she felt love for Clark, but she'd never really admitted it so easily to herself. Whenever she would think about Clark and the way she feels about him, she always felt guilt. Guilt that had to do with the fact that she was still engaged to a man that was apparently head over heels for her, guilt because she didn't feel the same way for him, and guilt because she was afraid of hurting him. With that she was reminded by something her cousin pointed out a month earlier, "_…either way you try to tackle this thing someone gets hurt…", _and that was the one thing that made her afraid to vocalize her feelings towards either man.

"Hey Lois, Clark is taking an awfully long time isn't he"?

With a huff, and a lack of interest in her voice, "I would think so, seeing as he left to get **you **lunch over thirty minutes ago". Shaking her head, _the gall of that woman, to ask about Clark's errant lateness when he completely forgot about __**her**__._

Not hearing the exasperation in Lois' voice Michelle continued, "Oh well then. Since he doesn't seem to be coming back anytime soon I'm going to the vending machine to soothe my need for food", rising from Clark's chair with a look towards Lois, "do you want anything, because knowing the way you eat, you're probably famished"

In the fifteen seconds before Michelle addressed Lois, any bystander would attest to the fact that the normally riled up and talkative Lois Lane was 'peacefully' working on an assignment. She may have looked a little frazzled, but no one would disagree with the fact that there was a constant rhythm of her fingers hitting her keyboard keys with rapid succession. Hell, you could say she looked like a soothed baby, but if you were smart you wouldn't say that aloud.

Now fifteen seconds after Michelle's comment, the bullpen had gone eerily silent. Fingers weren't hitting keys, papers weren't being shuffled, and all eyes were trained on the once peaceful woman.

The woman in question had stopped typing, her breathing became obviously shallow, and if you looked just close enough you'd notice a slight twitch in her right eye. There was a storm coming, and everyone was glad not to be Michelle Atkins.

Lois during the sudden stillness of the bullpen did a little introspection.

_That bitch! First she starts dating Clark, then she insults me and my cousin when they first met, and NOW she has the f***ing balls to question or even insinuate about my eating habits. _Taking a deep and calming breath. _Okay_ _Lois, breathe…breathe…and breathe again. We are not going to let slutty Anna get to us, we're just gonna forget she spoke a word. We're going to think about Smallville, and what the Boy Scout would do. Yes, what would Smallville do? Smallville in this situation would look adorably pleased that someone thought of him, and then pleasantly say 'yea thanks'. Lois you're Smallville, breathe and be Smallville…dammit _

With a devilish smile, and a sugary sweet tone, "You know what Michelle no, I don't want anything from the vending machine, and further I'd appreciate it O so much if you'd get out of Clark's chair and do what in my opinion, your being overpaid for"

With a stunned look on her face, Michelle walked away feeling like she should have been thoroughly insulted. The tone of Lois' voice didn't hint at any under lying malice, and this left her confused.

With a shrug she thought, _Maybe she hit a snag in her story._

Seeing that there would be no eruption of Mt. Lois, the bullpen went back to its previous rhythm of work.

Lois feeling accomplished and less aggravated, took a deep breath, thanked her channeling of Clark, and went back to work…until her stomach made her presently aware that she _was_ hungry.

_Hmm, maybe I do need something from the vending machine…_


End file.
